Chapter 3: Winning Telephone Skills

Chapter 3:Winning Telephone Skills A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Help Desk Professional Second Edition

Objectives • Understand the power of the telephone • Handle calls professionally • Avoid the most common telephone mistakes • Use proven techniques to place callers on hold and transfer calls in a positive, professional way • Use a variety of techniques to continuously improve your telephone skills • Consistently convey a positive, caring attitude

Winning Telephone Skills • The telephone is the primary way that customers obtain service from many help desks • The telephone will always play a role in customer service • Professional telephone skills help to ensure that the help desk handles customer requests in a prompt, courteous, and consistent manner • Consistency builds trust and teaches customers what they can expect during calls

Creating a Positive Telephone Image • Responsiveness and a caring attitude are fundamental to a positive telephone image • A customer’s perception is influenced by: • How long it takes to answer the telephone • The energy and enthusiasm analysts convey • Conducting business over the telephone can be frustrating and impersonal • When handled properly, the telephone can be an efficient, effective way to deliver support

Understanding the Power of the Telephone • The telephone is one of the most common ways that businesses and customers communicate • At a help desk, analysts may handle: • Incoming calls • Outgoing calls • Telephone technology automates many of these activities

Understanding the Power of the Telephone (continued) • Factors that influence the telephone technologies a help desk selects include: • The help desk’s size • The company’s goals • The nature of the company’s business • Customer expectations • The technology a help desk uses affects how customer contacts are directed to analysts and how analysts’ performance is measured

Understanding the Power of the Telephone (continued) • The best companies diligently manage voice mail messages • Calls are returned promptly, even if only to let customers know: • The call was received • It has been logged in the company’s incident tracking and problem management system • It is being handled

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish • Jan Carlzon refers to service encounters as “Moments of Truth” for a company • Each and every service encounter is critical to the success of the company • Each of these moments contributes considerably to how customers perceive an analyst and the entire company

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued)

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) • Using a script is a common help desk practice • Script - A standard set of text and behaviors • Scripts enable analysts to focus their energy on solving problems and handling unique situations • Analysts may use scripts when they need to find a positive way to say something they do not feel comfortable saying, such as “No” to a customer • Scripts also enable customers to perceive that the help desk delivers services consistently

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) Answering the telephone: • How you answer the telephone sets the tone for the entire conversation • Pick up the telephone promptly, but with composure • Use your company’s standard script to ensure that customers are greeted in the same, consistent way • Announce the name of your company or department • Give the caller your name • Ask the first question

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) • “Help Desk, this is Carmen. How may I help you?” • “Help Desk, this is Sue. May I have your name please?” • “Hello, Options Unlimited, this is Leon. May I have your Customer ID?”

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) • Listen actively to the customer’s request • Ask for the same information in the same order every time • If you speak with a customer regularly, verify the information rather than skipping over the step • Skipping steps is a disservice to your customers and your coworkers • The help desk is a team setting; by being consistent you: • Communicate your company’s policies • Convey to customers that anyone can assist them

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) Handling Calls About Unsupported Products or Services: • Few companies can be “all things to all people” • The cost would simply be too high • Many companies define a list of supported products and services • Internal help desks support products most used by employees and that contribute to company goals • External help desks support products and services that are developed or sold by the company (unless they are being compensated to do so)

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) • Analysts often have a hard time referring customers to another group or company • Particularly analysts who may be familiar with the product the customer is calling about • The number of analysts assigned to a help desk is determined by its projected workload • Analysts who assist customers with unsupported products undermine the ability of the team to handle the work within its scope of responsibility

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) • Remember that there is always something you can do • “What I can do is transfer you to the group that supports that product. They will be able to help.” • If you do not know who supports a product, let the customer know you will look into it and get back to them • Best-effort – A policy that means you do your best to assist the customer within a predefined set of boundaries, such as a time limit • Let the customer know in advance that you are under a time constraint, or that you may have to refer them to another group or vendor

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) Taking a message: • If a particular analyst is unavailable, let the customer know that and ask “who is calling” • Explain the analyst’s absence in a positive way • Ask the customer if there is anything you can do to help • Offer to take a message or transfer the customer to the analyst’s voice mailbox • When taking a message, write down all important information • The caller’s name, telephone number, the best time for the analyst to return the call, any message the caller chooses to leave

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) Closing the call: • There is often a temptation to rush the closing of a call • Trust and customer confidence comes by taking a little extra time and making sure that the customer is comfortable with the steps you have taken, before you hang up the telephone • Ending the call on a positive note leaves the customer with a lasting, good impression

Handling Calls Professionally from Start to Finish (continued) • Target resolution time - The timeframe within which the support organization is expected to resolve the problem • Severity - The category that defines how critical a problem is based on the nature of the failure and available alternatives or workarounds • Workaround – A way to circumvent a problem either partially or completely; usually before implementing the final resolution

Avoiding the Most Common Telephone Mistakes (continued) Putting a customer on hold: • When necessary, putting customers on hold in a professional manner instills confidence • Let customers decide if they would prefer to have you call back rather than being put on hold • If you are taking longer than expected, return to the caller and provide an update on your progress and the option of either continuing to hold or receiving a call back • A good guideline is to never ask a customer to hold if you are going to be longer than three minutes

Avoiding the Most Common Telephone Mistakes (continued) Knowing when and how to transfer calls: • There are a number of reasons why you may need to transfer a caller • There are a number of different ways to transfer a caller: • Hot transfer (conference call) • Warm transfer • Cold transfer • A primary consideration of which technique to use is the amount of information you have received or given until the point when you determine a transfer is needed

Avoiding the Most Common Telephone Mistakes (continued) Hot transfer (conference call): • Occurs when you stay on the line with the customer and the service provider • Appropriate when: • You can continue to contribute to the resolution of the customer’s request • You can benefit from hearing how the problem is resolved • Time allows

Avoiding the Most Common Telephone Mistakes (continued) • Before establishing a conference call: • Ask if it’s okay and if not, ask what the customer would prefer • When establishing a conference call: • Explain the problem to the service provider along with how you feel he or she can contribute to the resolution • Ask the service provider if it’s okay • Use common sense! • When permission is granted: • Bring the customer on the line and introduce the customer to the service provider • Explain the reason for the call and provide any information the customer has given you thus far • Stay on the line until the call is complete and close the call

Avoiding the Most Common Telephone Mistakes (continued) Warm transfer: • Occurs when you introduce the customer and the service provider to whom you are going to transfer the call but you do not stay on the line • Appropriate when: • There is no perceived value to be gained or given by staying on the line • Time does not allow you to stay on the line

Avoiding the Most Common Telephone Mistakes (continued) • Before you warm transfer a call: • Ask if it’s okay and if not, ask what the customer would prefer • When warm transferring a call: • Your company’s policy will determine whether you place the customer on hold first, or simply transfer the call • Ask the service provider if it’s okay to bring the customer on the line • When permission is granted: • Bring the customer [or service provider] on the line and introduce the customer to the service provider • Explain the reason for the call and provide any information the customer has given you thus far • Give the customer and the service provider the ticket number • Ask them to let you know if you can help and then hang up

Avoiding the Most Common Telephone Mistakes (continued) Cold transfer: • Occurs when you stay on the line only long enough to ensure that the call has been transferred successfully • Appropriate when: • The customer asked to be transferred • You quickly realize that the caller has dialed the wrong number or should be transferred to another person or department • A cold transfer is not appropriate when the customer has provided detailed information about the nature of their request

Avoiding the Most Common Telephone Mistakes (continued) • Before you cold transfer a call: • Let the customer know you are going to transfer him or her to the correct department • If the customer does not want to be transferred, ask what he or she would prefer • If a call back is preferred, set a time that is convenient for the customer • Clearly communicate to the other service provider when the customer wants to be contacted • When appropriate, provide the customer with the telephone number of the person or group to whom you are transferring the call

Fine-Tuning Your Telephone Skills • Telephone skills, like any other skills, need to be honed • Periodically attend a refresher course • Learn new best practices • Don’t forget the basics! • Be responsive • Demonstrate a caring attitude • Acknowledge the fact that customers are living, breathing human beings who have called because they need your help

Fine-Tuning Your Telephone Skills (continued) Using a speaker phone: • If possible, use the speakerphone behind closed doors • Ask all callers for permission before using a speakerphone • Introduce each person that is present • Briefly explain why each person is present • Participants who are speaking for the first time or who are unfamiliar to other callers may want to identify themselves before they speak

Fine-Tuning Your Telephone Skills (continued)

Fine-Tuning Your Telephone Skills (continued) Self-Study: • Books, videotapes, and audiocassettes are available • Take advantage of any training programs offered • Make your supervisor aware of training possibilities that you think will help

Fine-Tuning Your Telephone Skills (continued) Monitoring: • An excellent training technique when used properly • Analysts receive specific feedback on how they can improve their call handling • Promotes the consistent handling of calls and provides employees and supervisors specific guidelines used in measuring performance • Some companies use as both a training tool and as a way of measuring performance

Fine-Tuning Your Telephone Skills (continued) • A monitoring program must be implemented carefully and analysts must perceive they are being given the opportunity to be successful • Most companies: • Involve the help desk staff when designing a program • Define guidelines • Provide analysts a checklist or scorecard Used properly, monitoring enables you to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and objectively assess the quality of your service!

Fine-Tuning Your Telephone Skills (continued) Customer satisfaction surveys: • Event-driven surveys - Customer satisfaction surveys that ask customers for feedback on a single recent service event • Overall satisfaction surveys - Customer satisfaction surveys that ask customers for feedback about all calls they made to the help desk during a certain time period • Help desk managers use survey responses to: • Measure the performance of the team • Identify improvement opportunities • Measure individual performance (event-driven surveys) • Identify training needs

Fine-Tuning Your Telephone Skills (continued) Use feedback to identify your weaknesses and determine ways you can improve. Remember that your recollection of an event and another’s perception of an event may represent different perspectives!

Letting Your Caring Attitude Shine Through • Providing superior customer support is a habit – a state-of-mind that requires enthusiasm and passion • Using scripts is an excellent habit-building technique • Help desks that respond to calls in aconsistent manner are perceived as more professional • Understand your company’s policies and resist the temptation to deviate from those policies • If you believe a policy needs to be changed, explain why and provide reasonable alternatives • Remember there is always something you can do

Chapter Summary • The telephone is the most common way that businesses and customers communicate today • Telephone technologies used by help desks range from simple voice mail boxes and fax machines to highly complex, automated systems • Support providers must see each and every customer encounter, or “Moment of Truth,” as critical to the success of the organization • Two things that frustrate customers most are being placed on hold for an extended period of time and being repeatedly transferred

Chapter Summary (continued) • You can minimize customer frustration by listening to your customer’s preferences and carefully managing their expectations • Telephone skills, like any other skills, need to be honed • Techniques you can use include self-study, monitoring, and customer satisfaction surveys • Superior customer support is hard work • You have to work at it every day and you need to develop good habits • Take care of yourself, stay relaxed, and let your caring, can do attitude shine through

Chapter 3: Winning Telephone Skills